41: Join a Community Group
Following on from our last post about breaking out of your bubble - sometimes it’s good to instead find a new bubble! One you can strengthen your climate-action support network within.
Happy weekend, friends! This might be a good time to tackle this one and check out what networks are near you.
To sufficiently tackle climate change, we are going to need to act cooperatively. Unfortunately, events of recent years displaced lots of community groups and encouraged more of us to find social connection via our screens and away from real-life connections. As it is, the design of many populated areas is often not conducive to sharing space and/or time with others. Many of us share similar ethics and aspirations for the planet but may only act on these in individualistic ways. While we remain physically siloed, our ability to enact positive change, especially in our local communities, is limited.
Collective action on climate change has the potential to be greater than the sum of its parts, especially where our individual strengths and interests complement our neighbours’ in ways that can create enormous positive change. Besides, as isolated individuals, we miss out on stuff - especially the sharing of practical know-how that can be gained (and shared) with others.
For this weeks’ #52climatesolutions, we ask you to join a community group. Working with your community can be motivating and instil a sense of shared purpose. It can help you do more with the time and energy you have. Taking a leap to join an environmental- or social-cause-oriented community group might involve stepping outside your comfort zone, but it can be highly rewarding.
Alternatively, you might consider joining a group based around learning a new skill, or an interest you have, or even just a social group unrelated to climate action. Cohesive groups can surprisingly provide climate resilience and support in unexpected ways (read below for our personal experience). Acting towards a common purpose with people from different backgrounds or viewpoints can impart interpersonal skills that can translate to other areas of your life. Groups improve social cohesion and increase collective empathy for ‘us’ and nature – prompting ongoing actions on climate.
Community groups are less about what you can ‘get’ from joining, and more about the collective benefits of shared efforts. Not every community group will have a climate solutions angle, but many fit well within the spectrum of positive actions on climate, including activism, gardening and permaculture-based groups.
Here are a few groups to help you connect with climate-conscious people near you -
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